


Passing the Torch

by VentasServitas



Series: And the Story Goes On [4]
Category: A Series of Unfortunate Events (TV), A Series of Unfortunate Events - Lemony Snicket
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2020-09-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:08:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26529505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VentasServitas/pseuds/VentasServitas
Summary: It has been almost twenty years since the Baudelaires left the island, and the world has changed. Beatrice Baudelaire the Second has been working as a Private Investigator for several years now, but she's never been involved in a case like this before. Can she solve the mystery before someone gets hurt?
Relationships: Beatrice Baudelaire II/OC, Duncan Quagmire/Male OC, Klaus Baudelaire/Isadora Quagmire, Violet Baudelaire/Quigley Quagmire
Series: And the Story Goes On [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1852960
Kudos: 9





	Passing the Torch

_**Beatrice Baudelaire** _  
_**Private Investigator** _  
_**Mysteries Solved** _  
_**Lost Children Found** _  
_**Reasonable Rates, Willing to Travel** _  
_**312-667-3425** _

The moon was full, and the sky was clear. The road was empty and I was making excellent time, my bike eating up the miles. I checked my watch, plenty of time left. Good, if I was late I’d be in trouble. Big trouble. I was making sure to keep just under the speed limit, it wouldn’t do to get pulled over, tonight of all nights. Weaving around a slow moving yellow taxi, I turned into a side road. My destination was in sight.

I stopped some distance away from the house, turned off my lights, and cut the engine. After taking a moment to make sure my bike was secure, I got off and removed my helmet. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a keychain, and after a moment of fumbling, I identified the correct key and unlocked the bike’s top box. I removed the carefully packaged object within, and placed my helmet in the newly vacant space. Balancing the package in my left hand, I closed and locked the box; this was a safe neighbourhood, but having my helmet stolen was not an experience I wanted to repeat.

As I walked carefully up to the house, I surreptitiously checked my surroundings. My mentor had warned me to never let my guard down, even when I thought I was safe. Long hours of training asserted themselves, and my eyes swept around the street. I was alone. As I reached my destination, I glanced at the windows. The curtains were drawn, the occupants couldn’t be watching me. Smiling to myself, I walked up the path and raised my hand to knock at the door…

Before my hand could make contact, the door opened, and a veritable tornado of energy threw itself at me. I staggered, caught myself (and the valuable package), and hugged my sister. Sunny Baudelaire was the only one of my family members near to my age, and we’d always been especially close as a result. As we broke apart, I took a good look at her; she had moved away pursuing her career as the host of a radio cooking show, and I hadn’t seen her in a while. She had cut her golden brown hair short, and she looked radiantly happy, as she invariably seemed to. Nothing ever seemed to faze her, and I’d always admired her for that. “How did you know I was here?” I asked, curious, “You couldn’t have seen me through the windows; all the curtains are drawn.”

“This is Violet’s house.” Sunny replied, a somewhat smug look on her face. I looked at her questioningly, puzzled by the non-sequitur. “And…” I prompted, gesturing with my free hand. “And she’s added like a billion things to it. There’s a system of lenses and mirrors that let you watch the front garden from the study.” She explained. Of course Violet had done that. She was a brilliant inventor, and had designed everything from automatic mail machines to fire suppression systems.“Well don’t just stand there, come in! You’re the first to arrive” Sunny exclaimed. “Other than me of course.” she added as an afterthought: Sunny was one of the best chefs in the country, and she usually offered to cook for our gatherings. She had probably gotten the train into the city the day before. “How was your trip?” I asked as I stepped into the house, “Not too eventful I hope.”

“Pretty boring actually, especially compared to your week.” she replied, jabbing her elbow into my ribs. I winced, Sunny was small, but she had lethal elbows, as I had often discovered while growing up. “How do you even know about that?” I asked, “It hasn’t hit the papers yet has it?”

“Duncan was here yesterday to talk to Quigley, he showed me an early draft. Looks like you’ll be on the front page tomorrow.” I groaned, publicity was usually good for business, but it also resulted in an increase in idiots walking into my office, people who didn’t actually want my services, and just wanted to gawk, or ask inane questions. “Well I guess I should have known that when I started the case.” I said as we walked into the study, where Violet and Quigley were sitting. “Bea!” they both said, standing to greet me. Quigley had often ridiculed his siblings whenever they’d acted overley coupley, but his synchronisation with Violet was just as bad, if not worse. Quigley extended his hand for me to shake, but when I took it, he pulled me into a bearhug. Quigley was tall, just a hair over six foot, and he lifted me clean off the ground.

“Put me down you oaf!” I said, “I need to breathe!” He placed me back on the floor and burst into laughter. “Always the same reaction. And you say I’m predictable.” said Quigley, turning to his wife. Violet was also laughing slightly, and she seemed to glow effervescently. “Well you are predictable.” she said, “You’ve done that every time you’ve met Bea for the last ten years.”

“Oh, before I forget, this is for you.” I said, handing Violet the package. “It’s the thing that we discussed.” Sunny looked at me curiously, she was out of the loop and had no idea why I’d brought the package, but she said nothing. She knew by my face that I wouldn’t give any more information than I volunteered. Violet thanked me, and put the package down on a desk. I looked around the “study”, if you could call it that, for it was more like a small library. My flat would probably fit with room to spare. There were several bookshelves filled with texts on engineering, science, cartography and exploration. There were a pair of desks, and several armchairs and side tables. I was just about to sit down when the doorbell rang. Sunny burst out of the room in an explosion of movement, and Quigley followed her at a more leisurely pace. Violet sat back down, and strode across the room and joined her, sitting in the chair that Sunny had vacated. I noticed a glass screen that appeared to be blank, but when I leaned to the side and looked at it head on, I saw the empty front porch. I guess Sunny had already shown in the new arrival. I turned to Violet and asked, “So how are things? Going well I hope.”

“Everything’s going great,” she responded, “although I’ve not invented anything big lately, just made some little things.” She smiled and continued, “And I hear you’ve been doing some inventing yourself. Your use of that chair was very clever.”

“Well I learnt from the best.” I replied. I paused for a moment, and said, “Wait, how do you know that? Just how detailed is this article?”

“Well you know what Duncan is like.” Violet said. “Did you think he would leave things out?” Quigley’s brother Duncan was, among other things, a senior journalist for The Investigator, the largest paper in the city. His attention to detail was legendary. “Well of course I wouldn’t. The truth is in the details, so they say.” Duncan stepped through the door, followed by his husband Simon. Duncan and Quigley had once been identical, but they were less so these days. Although the brothers were more or less the same height, Duncan was slimmer, and he tended to dress better. Tonight he was wearing a charcoal grey suit over a bright blue jumper. His partner on the other hand was dressed as casually as he could be, in a sweater and jeans. I didn’t know Simon that well, but he was a lovely person, and we generally got on well.

“Looks like almost everyone’s here.” said Quigley, “Jacquelyn and Elizabeth won’t be able to make it I’m afraid.” This was unfortunately not unusual, Jacquelyn’s duties, as well as the distance of Winnipeg from the city, meant that she was often unavailable. Justice Strauss - for I always thought of her as the Justice, even though she’d been retired for several years by this point - usually stuck around to help her, so she was rarely present when Jacquelyn wasn’t. “I wonder how late Klaus and Isa will be.” said Duncan, chuckling, “Any bets?” Klaus was a genius and could write authoritatively on subjects as varied as law and anthropology, but he tended to get wrapped up in his work. Isadora was just as bad when she was composing her poetry, and as a result the couple were almost always late to family gatherings. The traditional making of bets was forestalled by the doorbell. “I’ll get it.” I said, vacating my seat. As I paced out of the room and down the corridor, Sunny joined me, apparently determined to greet everyone today.

As we reached the door, Sunny darted past me and pulled it open. Standing in the doorway was Isadora, her hair tied back in a bun, and a harried look on her face. Sunny threw herself at her, and Isadora managed to catch her without stumbling. Isadora was maybe half a foot taller than Sunny, and so she was able to look at me over the top of her head. “I’m afraid Klaus won’t be able to make it tonight. An emergency came up at work.” Since Klaus officially worked as a writer, which is not usually the sort of career that resulted in last minute emergencies, I assumed she was referring to his other job. Both Klaus and Isadora were senior figures, and founding members, of the reformed VFD. “Well, you’ll have to catch him up on all the gossip he missed.” said Sunny, finally letting go of Isadora. “I suppose you’re the last guest then,” she added, “Come in and we can get started!”

* * *

The meal was delicious. With Sunny’s cooking, there was no way it could be anything else. There was a creamy onion soup, and garlicky baked salmon on a bed of new potatoes. Duncan had brought out a bottle of wine and passed it around, although I stuck to the apple juice that Violet had produced from somewhere; I don’t like to drink on work nights, since even a glass tended to give me headaches the next morning. We worked our way through the excellent food, chatting amiably. The meal seemed to pass in an instance, although it lasted well over an hour, as it often does when you’re with friends. As we finished off the dessert (a lemon meringue pie), Violet stood up and rapped her spoon against her empty apple juice glass. As the sound reverberated around the room, the general hubbub quickly died down, and Quigley stood up to join her. “We thank you all for coming tonight, and we’d like to finish this meal with an announcement.” he said. ”After a lot of careful thought, Violet and I have decided it’s time to retire from VFD.” As Quigley said this, the two of them reached into their pockets and retrieved two identical silver spy glasses.”So we’re turning these in.” added Violet.

There was a moment of stunned silence. VFD played a central role in all of our lives, and had done since before I was born. Violet, Quigley and Isadora were full members, and the rest of us had regular dealings with the secretive organisation. This was the first time one of us had stepped away. “You should keep the spy glasses,” said Isadora, “as a memento. After all, they’re your design Violet.” The two now ex-volunteers nodded, and returned the spy glasses to their pockets, but they didn’t sit down. “And now the reason for our sudden retirements.” said Violet, and without missing a beat, she continued, “I’m pregnant.” 

The table exploded in congratulations, and expressions of surprise. I locked eyes with Violet and smiled at her. “Wait.” said Sunny, once the commotion had died down, “You already knew, didn’t you Bea? You’re far too calm.” I nodded, it was a relief to not be keeping the secret anymore. I’d bumped into Violet looking at baby things while searching for a dead drop. She’d sworn me to silence until she could make a proper announcement, but I’d insisted on buying her some baby clothes, which I’d brought to her today. “How did you know?” Isadora asked, “I hadn’t noticed anything, and I see Violet a lot more than you do.”

“You see but you don’t observe.” I said sagely, deciding not to mention the accidental nature of my discovery. Isadora looked slightly suspicious, but didn’t question me. My reputation as an investigator meant that people often assumed I had some kind of Sherlock Holmes like deductive ability. I didn’t usually correct them. Of course I had spotted several signs, but that was probably because I knew, and was expecting to see them. “I bet Klaus will be kicking himself once he finds out.” said Simon, “Not here for his own sister’s pregnancy announcement.” At this he chuckled, as did several others, but Isadora began to look worried again, and I silently hoped that Klaus wasn’t doing anything dangerous. I decided to change the subject, and raised my glass. “A toast! A toast for the expecting parents!”

* * *

People began to trickle home over the next few hours, and soon it was just me, Sunny, Violet and Quigley left. We sat around the fireplace in the living room, laughing and reminiscing. Sunny was retelling the story of how she’d fought a swordswoman with only her teeth. I’d heard that one several times, and I still wasn’t sure I believed it; I vaguely remembered that Sunny had had exceptionally sharp front teeth as a young child, but I was sure she was exaggerating the extent. As Sunny finished her tale, I turned to Violet, “So old age has finally caught up with you eh? Retired already? It goes in a flash you know, you’ll be needing a walking stick soon.” I said, poking her in the arm.

“Clearly we didn’t teach you enough respect for your elders.” she said, chuckling, “And you know I’m only 36, you’ll be my age before you know it.” I stuck my tongue out at her, there were some advantages to being the youngest in the group, and getting away with childish behaviour was one of them. “We won’t be retired completely, we’ll still help out every now and again.” interjected Quigley, “But it’ll be nice to be at home more; no more crawling through secret passages for me.” I stifled a laugh, I had done some work for the VFD, and it always seemed to involve underground tunnels, or caves and hidden chambers. 

“It’s getting pretty late,” I said, “I should probably get going.” I began to get up from my seat, but Violet protested. “It’s far too late for you to be riding home, you can stay the night. We have plenty of spare rooms, and Sunny’s staying anyway.” I considered the idea for a moment; my office wasn’t too far from here, and I was pretty sure I’d left some clothes in the house the last time I’d visited. I was pretty knackered, and it is generally a bad idea to drive while tired. “Sure.” I said, “That sounds like a plan.”

“You can have the same room as last time.” Quigley said, “Second one…”

“Second one on the right.” I finished, “I remember. I think I’ll turn in now, because unlike some people, I actually have to work tomorrow.” Ducking the cushion Sunny threw at me, and ignoring the various protests, I got up and headed out of the room. 

Despite its size, the house was logically laid out, and I made it back to the entrance hall without getting lost. I headed up the main staircase. The door to the first bedroom on the left was open. Curiously, I went over and peered inside. It had been set up for a baby. The room was painted a pale shade of purple. The cot had a mobile hanging over it, which seemed to be of Violet’s design. There was a rocking chair, and a dresser, and everything was soft, and had rounded corners; clearly Violet and Quigley were taking no chances. There was a hollow tube extending a few inches into the room. I went over and took a look. It was made of a dark coloured wood and disappeared into the ceiling. A rubber plug hung on a string next to it.

“It’s a sound tube.” said Quigley. I jumped slightly and turned around. I’d been so engrossed in examining the tube that I hadn’t heard him enter, that was something my mentor had often chided me for, but I kept making the same mistake. Oh well, it hasn't caused me any serious issues yet. “It goes to our bedroom. When it’s unplugged at both ends you can hear what’s happening in the other room with perfect clarity.” 

“You’re being very careful then.” I said, “Taking no chances.”

“Yeah, to tell the truth, I think Violet’s overthinking things, she’s invented about a dozen things to help.”

“Well you managed to raise me, so clearly you’re not completely useless.” I said, patting him on the arm and trying to sound reassuring, “That was the six of us together.” said Quigley, gazing into the middle distance. He was clearly quite nervous himself. 

“Well if you need help, you know where to find me.” I offered, “And I’m sure the others would be delighted to pitch in.”

“Thanks,” said Quigley, “I’ll remember that.”

“Well I’m going to bed now.” I said. “Good night.”

“Good night.” responded Quigley, and I wandered off into the corridor, leaving him to contemplate fatherhood alone. Walking into the spare bedroom, I noticed that everything had been arranged like I liked it. Clearly Violet had planned for my tendency to overlook the time. I pulled a pair of pajamas out of the wardrobe, washed, changed and went to bed. I was soon fast asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> So we've started a new chapter in the story of the Baudelaires and Quagmires. This chapter is mostly a reintroduction to the characters we know and love, to catch you up on what they've gotten up to in the intervening years. The story proper will start with chapter 2, which should be posted sometime in the next week.


End file.
